THE AMAZON FACES MORE DEADLY DROUGHTS

That headline, on the BBC's website, should strike a chill of fear into every sentient human being. Sadly, few will notice, few will care, and nobody will do a blind thing about trying to stop the slow death of the largest portion of the Earth's lungs.

IS GLOBAL OVERHEATING OVERPLAYED IN THE MEDIA?

Perhaps, but far better overplayed than under, because the fight against it is being so underplayed as to be virtually non-existent. And with the quality of life of the whole human race at stake, plus the vitality of the whole biosphere, any 'overplaying' is entirely appropriate.

But every do-nothing politician, business, vehicle owner, coal-merchant, oil-baron, etc., is certainly guilty of grossly overplaying power, money, stupidity and ignorance. By their sins of omission and comission they militate against everyone who wants to do something. They thwart them at every turn by carrying on gearing things for profligate planetary ruin instead of the continuance of optimal human life.

FAR TOO BUSY FOR THE PLANET!

It sounds crazy, and it is; it beats all the insanities that human beings commit against themselves. But 'too busy for the planet', combined with the insane addiction to the black stuff, is why virtually no one is doing anything effective about global overheating and climate ruination. Certainly not the rich and powerful.

A rich man who was asked recently to spend a couple of hours considering investing in the EStarCar said he had too much on his plate. That includes preparing to sail round the very planet he does not have time to bother his stupid head with. He should look down at his feet, consider what supports them and consider whether its state of health has anything to do with his.

Insanity varies with the cube of wealth...

Wordsworth was right:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we have in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours
And are upgathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not...

EARTH'S NEGATIVE NEWS GETS WORSE AND WORSE

Yet another authoritative study shows that we have really messed up this planet for human habitation, and that there is a lot worse to come, as this media summary shows, backed by the NOAA report on which it is based).

Salient excerpts from the media summary make grim reading:

'Oceans worldwide absorbed approximately 118 billion metric tons of carbon between 1800 and 1994 according to a report published last year by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and NOAA, resulting in increased ocean acidity, which reduces the availability of carbonate ions needed for the production of calcium carbonate structures. In the past, changes in ocean acidity have triggered mass extinction events. According to a study published in the September issue of Geology, dramatically warmer and more acidic oceans may have contributed to the worst mass extinction on record, the Permian extinction. During the extinction event, which occurred some 250 million years ago, about 95% of ocean's life forms became extinct. The same fate could befall modern day marine life.'

'A draft U.N. report obtained by Reuters on Thursday said warming is expected to turn the planet a bit greener by spurring plant growth, but crops and forests may wilt beyond mid-century if temperatures keep rising. That report, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will be released on April 6.'

'The conclusions are negative for agriculture: it appears that the global warming process has produced damages to almost every commonly grown grains over 20 years. The damages are estimated at $5 billion.

'Warming temperatures from 1981 to 2002 cut the combined production of wheat, corn, barley and other crops by 40 million tonnes per year.'

SETTING CARBON CAPS IS INSANE

We do not set the maximum amount of carbon-dioxide and methane etc., that the atmosphere can take. The planet does. And we were told at the big scientific conference in London at the beginning of 2005 that 400ppm is it--and that 'there is no safe increase' from the 380ppm that we were then at. Which means we have reached the planet's cap. Any figure dreamed up by brain-damaged politicians is therefore irrelevant, and dangerous (because it looks like useful action), and very stupid.

Setting 'carbon caps' is like a doctor telling a cancer patient that he has to have a certain amount of cancer. Just live with it, sir. And die.